United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) after Carlisle's scheduled match against MK Dons was postponed just 75 minutes prior to kick off, Abbott understandably disappointed with the situation :
JP
Jusy how disappointing is this for you and the team this afternoon?
GA
Well, it is disappointing in respect of the preparation work we have done for the game, and the way we manage our week with a game at the end of it. But, to be fair we are not too bad, it is part and parcel of the industry, for us it is our job and if you go somewhere and it cancelled then we just have to get ourselves sorted out and do it again at another time. But, the key is the fans, it is there, they have taken time off work or will have to take time off work the next time they come.
They have taken their time out of the weekend, they have spent a lot of money getting there and obviously the time involved in getting here and back to Cumbria is immense. So, they are the people really that it affects more broadly than us, and they are the ones that we are thinking about right now. We are on our journey back and we can address it at a later date, but it seems like a wasted weekend or certainly a day for our fans.
JP
Yeah, Karl Robinson is out on the pitch now just chatting to a few more of the groundstaff and I think a television crew, very complimentary about Carlisle United and he had some really lovely things to say. He has also confirmed, I know that MK Dons will now look after the costs of Carlisle for getting down for the rematch but he has confirmed that they are looking into now whether they can do that for the fans as well and that would be a great gesture wouldn't it after this late call off?
GA
Yeah, I mean to be fair we can be upset and then we can go and fight a war with Karl and their chairman (Peter Winkelman) should the response not be as humble as it was. But, both of them to a tee came straight in to me and they were absolutely so genuinely disappointed and apologetic about the situation, and for that they are going to sort out at their end what has gone wrong. That is for them to deal with and they were going to make a statement on that, but they were so gracious, so humble, and at the end of the day the chairman has come across as a lovely man.
Karl has said some great things about us as a team and as a club, spoke about our fans and the wasted journey and the wasted preparation work. For that really it kills any argument, so from that score we have to take that one on the chin. My sort of view is still for the fans that if they can get looked after then that is the key, we have to come back and we make those arrangements anyway.
But, the humbleness in which they have offered an apology sort of it makes it a lot easier for us to swallow, but hopefully they will do the same for the fans and they can have a trip down and enjoy it and sort of get over this disappointment of this weekend and maybe see us get a good performance and a free coach trip and maybe a free bit of something to eat or drink when they get here or something like that, however they will do it. But, certainly the gesture was that they could have free food or drink after the game today from the chairman, so as far as they can go they have done the honourable thing on that and for that we do thank them.
JP
Yeah, fair play to them you have to say. What was the pitch like when you were on it? How bad was it? How surprising was it I suppose that it was such a late call off?
GA
Well, I was massively surprised, I mean I only found out because obviously our kit people and our back room staff go down to the ground at sort of eleven o'clock-ish. I think they got there today about 11.15am and Dolly (Neil Dalton) after putting all his bits and pieces out rang me and said 'gaffer, don't mention this to the players but I think the game is in doubt, there is a strip of 15 to 20 yards the full width of the pitch that is frozen solid and they reckon the sun is going to get on it.'
But, Dolly was telling me in his weather forecast manner that the sun had already visited that part and had drifted behind the ground and was never going to get at it. To be fair to him he was spot on but he didn't want me to alert the players and put them in a mindset where the game was going to be off before we actually got there. As soon as I got there decisions were already being made, the referee (Darren Sheldrake) wasn't happy, their manager was just in disbelief and it looked like after that the next sort of half an hour was a foregone conclusion, we weren't going to able to play the game.
JP
Yeah, very disappointing, but it sounds like a positive perhaps for Neil Dalton that if he ever decides to come out of football he can maybe take on a role as a weathergirl?
GA
As a weathergirl? Dolly? Yeah, I don't think he would thank you for that, he has just got a bit of experience of being round grounds, he knows the score and the one thing I always tell the staff to do when they have got all their bits and pieces out is to go and inspect the pitch and tell us what sort of condition it is in. As soon as he has done that he has alerted us straight away and he was absolutely spot on.
JP
Well, look, some very nice things said by Karl Robinson about your club and the way everything is going, so I suppose silver linings in there, but a disappointing day for everyone including the fans but hopefully it is all going to get sorted out, so many thanks for joining us and have a safe trip home?
GA
Nice one, and again thoughts to the fans, and hopefully we will come down and get the result next time.